VFL practice match vs Werribee 2018-03-24

Nice bump and clean hands by Redman.

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Time is slip-sliding away for Werribee.

Jackson lovely tap kick over his shoulder touched on line.

46-21

Terrence Trent Darby sits back and marks… then kicks out on the full. He pack marks the consequent centring kick though!

Dixon has had a good game for us.

Werribee “not” deliberate rush of point for us.

46-21

The Traveller has had perhaps his best game for us.

Jackson good this quarter. Mark and fifty earned.

All wrapped up as it’s now 51-21 at 22:50 into the last.

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Bags at the centre bounce, clearing kick. Ottavi marks and they give away another fifty!

Bang.

57-21… just.

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I think I made a late score error but we win approx 9.5.59 to 2.9.21

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Thanks, as always, @DJR Informative and enjoyable commentary.

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Thanks. Very difficult game to call, massive packs and water sitting everywhere. We had some better skills and structure. Their scoreline is an accurate summary of their inability to create, let alone convert, scoring opportunities.

Fun and funny to watch though, and an excellent tutorial on playing to the conditions.

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Thanks DJR!

Guelfi must be wondering wtf he has got himself in for, coming to Melbourne for this sort of weather.

Thanks heaps DJR

Thanks DJR.

Anyone standout in the tough conditions?

DJR - pure dedication today. Even went to the huddle in the rain.

Luenberger did well. McKernon, Redman and Mynott all impressed at times and Clarke got a heap of the pill.

Hard to draw any conclusions from the game but Heath Hocking is playing a prominent role as captain setting up the structures in accordance, I would surmise, with the senior game plan.

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Thanks JM.

Was Clarke purely extractor or was he getting some outside ball?

Loony was the main and best ruck, and worked very hard to help us win the many stoppages (often doing it all by himself). Smack and Strachan did some nice things, but were nowhere near as influential.

Mynott has gone straight into the midfield for his first two games (and mostly, in the square, not the wing) and beating bigger older more experienced people. Small sample, but he looks like a very good pickup.

Baguley (back and mid) obviously took to the game like a duck to a shedload of water; a perhaps less obvious enjoyer of the conditions was Redman.

Ridley and Terence Trent D’Arby were the two key defenders, and clearly did their jobs.

Merrett meh until the last quarter when his composure and skills in the harsh conditions stood out. Was a forward all day.

Clarke unsurprisingly went well in the slog.

I wasn’t sure on the identity of a few VFL-listed guys. Notable guys not already listed were HepA and Dixon, with Ottavi surprisingly un-awful for a 199cm in the wet. Hind didn’t get to burn many off today, but he has clean hands and that counts.

The team has now played two games in extreme conditions (wind last week, rain and standing water this week) and in both cases adapted to them well. In both cases the opposition really really struggled to score.

The ground had standing water everywhere but the surface was good (will quickly get softer if this continues, because it clearly doesn’t drain too well). Several scary moments when people slid at pace into the boundary fence or interchange areas.

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Also, quality backseat special comments from Masters Mihocek and Hocking.

Top work DJR. You look to have adapted to the conditions well yourself!

Based on the last two games do you think we have made some adjustments to the gameplan to reflect the more defensive structures we have been told about at senior level?

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